Asean Football Federation supports region's 2034 World Cup bid
But sports business expert Walton feels there are many challenges to co-hosting the 2034 tournament
World Cup matches at Singapore's National Stadium in 2034 - it is a dream scenario that may materialise if the Asean Football Federation (AFF) gets its way.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Sunday announced that South-east Asian countries will jointly bid to host the World Cup in 2034.
Mr Prayut's comments followed meetings between leaders in the Asean leaders' summit in Bangkok.
Yesterday, the AFF pledged its support for the initiative.
In a statement, its president Khiev Sameth said: "The AFF welcomes the announcement that our political leaders in this region have pledged their support for Asean to launch a joint bid to host the 2034 Fifa World Cup."
"It has always been our stand that Asean, which is collectively the third-largest economy in Asia and the seventh-largest in the world, has the potential to host a successful Fifa World Cup."
Asean is made up of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Added Khiev Sameth: "The AFF will engage our stakeholders and look into the possibility of making a bid for the hosting rights."
Football Association of Singapore president Lim Kia Tong welcomed the news, saying: "A successful bid by Asean to host the World Cup would see the global football community focus their attention on the region...
"This is turn will galvanise the sport here and lift it to the next level. It would be most visible in the long term... especially with improved football infrastructure...
"We look forward to engaging with regional member associations to explore the feasibility of such a joint bid."
ASEAN TOGETHER
Meanwhile, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, in comments to local media, said: "We felt that alone (single-nation bids), we will never have the chance to host the World Cup.
"Maybe (with) all Asean together, we will be able to hold the World Cup."
Only once has Asia held the quadrennial international football event. Japan and South Korea were joint hosts in 2002, and Qatar will bring it back to the continent in 2022.
James Walton, Deloitte's South-east Asia sports business group leader, told TNP that while a bid was attractive, there would be stumbling blocks.
He said: "Potentially, a successful bid will have a galvanising effect on football in the region, but realistically but there are plenty of challenges.
"Firstly, the more countries in the mix, the more governments that have to come together for the planning.
"This is a region with a history of challenging post-election transitions and that is a factor that might work against an Asean bid. Then you have to look at whether Asean countries have the requirements in terms of infrastructure.
"There is also the factor of China being interested in bidding for 2034 or earlier... If they are in the running, it would be incredibly difficult for Asean."
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